Hope to see you this week at the Vision Conference

24 Hour Prayer

Jesus Rose Again The Third Day!

What a weekend! We had a wonderful marriage retreat. A special thanks to Sam and Cheryl Miles who did a wonderful job of stirring up our commitment to scriptural marriage. The vow renewal of the McKitricks brought everything to a very fitting conclusion. We also had a great time taking it to the streets on Sunday afternoon! I am looking forward to seeing Jesus preached Sunday! I hope to see you and your guest.

2010 "Invest" Marriage Conference

I just wanted to send out a reminder that March 10th is the deadline for registration and payment for the 2010 Marriage Conference. There are overnight and daytime rates so the sessions are affordable to all. As always, please do not let money be the reason you don’t participate. As we endeavor to equip the saints of God to accomplish the mission of God, there is nothing as healthier than focusing on our Relationship with God, one another and the world Jesus died to save.

You often hear me say “strong families make strong churches”, this is true, but it takes strong marriages in the Lord to have strong families. Even those who “have it together” should take advantage of this opportunity to do some marital maintenance.

This year’s title for the retreat is simply “Invest”. Pastor Sam Miles of Midtown Baptist Temple will be our speaker this year and I know God will use him in a mighty way as he breaks open the Bread of Life. This year we will also be joined by Sam’s congregation from Midtown. This should be a great time of fellowship and an opportunity to build relationships with our sister church. To top off our retreat this year, David and Deann McKittrick will be renewing their marriage vows after 25 years of marriage! I pray that you do take time out of your busy schedule to invest in your relationship with your spouse March 26-27. You can find more information in the bulletin, resource center.

I look forward to seeing you at the marriage conference!

Matthew 6:21
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Revival

I just finished the book of Ezra and was once again struck by the core issue dealt with in the revival of the nation of Israel. It wasn't issues of study, proclamation or military conquest, it boiled down to simple relationship issues. The last verse of Ezra states, "All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children."

Wow, sin is sticky! The man of God, "Ezra" took the sin of Israel seriously. He publicly mourned over the sin. He did not exclude himself from the infirmities that touched Israel and he did the most important things, lamented and confessed it all before God. The result was a national repentance. A unified admission and repentance in the area relationships in particular.

A difficult decision was made. Wives and children impacted. God honored. In the New Testament, the scripture gives definition to the very same issues raised in Ezra's day. Fortunately in the age of grace, the gospel or our Lord Jesus Christ is far superior to the law and is able to clearly address the issues of marriage and family relationships. Having said that, it is no surprise that since Genesis 3, the primary place the Adversary chooses to work is in the relationship between a man, his wife, his family and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As our relationship with Christ goes, so goes the family. As our relationship with the family goes, so goes the church. The glorious reality is that the blood of Christ is well able to overcome the damaged caused by carnality and sin and resurrect a spirit of obedience and fidelity to our Lord Jesus Christ. I was once again encouraged by my time in Ezra as I could clearly see confession lead to transformation. The Lord will soon return and reconcile us to Himself physcially. It will be a wonderful day to rejoice in the victory we have in Christ. In the mean time, it is increasingly important that we focus on the Lord and trust God with our families for unfortunatly many are taken captive by the devil at his will.

Finish Strong

King Asa of Judah did run well. He started off with a bang! He tore down the pagan alters and destroyed the false images of worship, he built fortified cities for the people of God, he cried out to the Lord when facing a 1,000,000 man army from Ethiopia. He saw God deliver his people and used the proceeds from the war with Ethiopia to fortify and provide for the kingdom. Asa was running a great race!

Running the race is very, very important, but finishing is equally important. 36 years into Asa’s reign he was faced with another challenge from his brothers to the North. King Baasha of Israel had tried to set up an embargo on Judah and instead of depending upon the Lord; he turned to his prosperity and the prosperity of the nation of Judah. God was not pleased and ultimately Asa became bitter as God rebuked him for his unbelief and ruined what was otherwise a spotless reign.

One of the hardest things to appreciate is success. It is the corrupt nature of the human heart that likes to believe the blessings of God are not enough. The bible says godliness with contentment is great gain. Does what we accumulate really matter if we lose our own soul in the process? We should not be discouraged for it is possible to finish our course! The apostle Paul concluded his ministry proclaiming he had run his race and finished his course. He knew he had a crown or righteousness laid up for him.

No matter what we face, God is enough. How can we trust Jesus to overcome the grave and then freak out when we need to overcome an emotional, financial, physical or spiritual hurdle? Like Caleb said in Numbers 13:30 when facing the giants, “God is well able to overcome”. With God all things are possible. I am encouraged that our success doesn’t depend on our strength but upon Christ Jesus! If you are breathing God wants to use you! Lay aside the weight and sin that so easily besets you and engage once more in the race! Finish your course!

Merry Christmas

Isaiah 1:18
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Wow what a great Christmas snow storm! I always say, if it’s going to be cold, it might as well snow! We spent the afternoon and evening with my family in Independence. It was a great time to spend with family. Samuel and Elisabeth really raked it in tonight and they will do even better tomorrow (or later this morning). Amy is placing the last gifts under the tree right now and we will be tucking in to rise and shine and open up the gift of God’s Word and share the true meaning for Christmas from Luke 2. I pray my children are enthusiastic about the gift of eternal life and the gifts of the Spirit as they are for their Christmas gifts. Children are great teachers and reminders of what our attitude toward the provision of our Heavenly Father should be.

Merry Christmas, I pray the Lord bless you and your family this Christmas!